


Physician, Heal Thyself

by DreadNaught13



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M, Rape Aftermath, Rape/Non-con Elements, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-18
Updated: 2015-03-24
Packaged: 2018-03-13 13:01:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3382466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreadNaught13/pseuds/DreadNaught13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When out on a retrieval mission, Nico is attacked by Zeus. The aftermath threatens to tear apart the fragile peace between the gods, but more importantly, threatens to send Will down a dark path.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warning: there is rape in this, though it takes place off page.  
> I don't usually write non-con/rape fics. And I don't like putting characters through it unless there's a really good reason. I wanted to explore what happens to those who are in love with someone who's been through something like this, especially when the person doesn't exactly remember what was done to them. I wanted to explore that need to avenge the hurt done to someone you love.  
> Note: I am a sexual assault survivor, so I am trying to handle this with respect and care. There are many ways people deal with assault and recovery. I may not update as quickly as previous fics due to the subject matter.

Nico crept through the woods, black sword drawn. Just another typical search and rescue mission: retrieve a demigod before they became some monster’s snack. He and Piper and Jason had split up, the two of them going one way, while Nico—with his hellhounds, Bucky and Steve—took the other. The son of Hades kept the hounds close so they didn’t frighten anyone else who might also be in the woods.

The woods were a cool respite from the sun beating down overhead. It was summer, three years after the war with Gaea and the Prophecy of the Seven. Jason and Piper were back at Camp Half-Blood for a visit after going off to college on the West coast. The three of them had planned on a quiet day just hanging out with Nico’s boyfriend, Will Solace, when the call came in.

Nico had volunteered, thinking that he’d just shadow travel to wherever the newbie demigod was and bring them back without interrupting their plans. But Jason and Piper had other ideas. They’d been missing out on the action and decided to come along too, saying the search would go quicker with three of them. Will had stayed behind to, in his words, “Patch your dumb asses up when you drag them back in here chewed on and charred by something nasty.” Then he’d dragged Nico upstairs for quick sloppy makeout session that was over way too quickly.

Grinning at the thought of his boyfriend—his boyfriend!—Nico searched the area for any sign of a monster. Nothing. All clear. Bucky and Steve weren’t even getting a hint of a scent of anything out of the ordinary.

The son of Hades moved carefully, eyes watchful. It felt good to be out doing something again, even if it was just a pickup. Staying at Camp Half-Blood still meant training every day, so he knew his sword skills were far from rusty. He’d been taking classes online to catch up on all of the school he missed out on and should be graduating soon. Will had stuck around Camp Half-Blood so they could both to college in New Rome together. While the quiet was a welcome change after all of the blood and upheaval usually reserved for demigods, Nico sometimes had a hard time settling down. Will told him it was his PTSD flaring up and he needed to sit his butt back down and deal.

Nico grinned. He liked it when his boyfriend was forceful.

“Help!” came a weak cry from somewhere on Nico’s left. “Someone help me!”

Breaking into a run, Nico took off in that direction, trying to stay quiet. He didn’t want to alert whatever might be out there hunting the demigod. The three of them wended their silent way through the trees, following the sound of the voice.

Nico came into a small copse of trees, a clearing in the center. A young man—maybe a year or two younger than Nico’s seventeen years. He looked a little like Jason: big, muscular, and blond, with handsome, chiseled features. He was lying at the back of the clearing, bleeding heavily from his left leg. His blue eyes lit when he saw Nico.

Nico signaled the guy to stay quiet when he looked like was going to call out to him. The son of Hades directed Bucky and Steve to do a perimeter sweep before he ran across the clearing, sword clenched in his hand.

“Thank goodness!” the young man. He tried to get up, but fell back with a groan. “I didn’t think anyone heard me.”

Nico put his sword in easy reach and took a look at the wound. “What did this to you?” he asked, rummaging in his pack to get to the thermos holding the nectar.

He heard movement as the young man shifted position, then Nico’s right arm was jerked painfully behind his back. Nico struggled, looking over his shoulder at the perfectly healthy young man standing behind him. The wound on his leg had disappeared.

Rage filled the son of Hades. It was a trap. He needed to get his hellhounds and warn Piper and Jason. What if something had already happened to them? He yanked himself free, expecting to break the hold fairly easily only to feel something in his shoulder pop. Pain flooded through him.

Staggering forward with a cry, he scooped up his sword in his left hand. His right arm hung uselessly by his side. The man’s appearance shifted again, becoming older, until he looked perhaps thirty or so. Nico had no idea who or what he was dealing with. The man in front of him laughed, revealing perfectly even white teeth. He looked like he should be in a toothpaste commercial. Nico faced off with him, sword in a guard position. “Who are you?”

The laughter became sly, trickling down to a chuckle. Then he was rushing at the son of Hades. He moved so fast that Nico couldn’t get his sword up in time; it was like he covered the space between them in less than an eyeblink, disappearing from one place only to reappear in another in less than a second.

The demigod flew backwards, blood in his mouth, to land halfway across the clearing on his dislocated shoulder. His world went white for a few seconds and Nico thought he might have screamed in pain, but he couldn’t remember for sure. All he knew was that his throat hurt on top of the pain in his shoulder. He heard laughter again as he made his way to his feet once more. He shook the hair that had escaped his messy ponytail from his eyes.

Crouching in a defensive position, Nico looked around for his sword. It was on the other side of the clearing. The stranger stood between it and him, eyeing him with contempt.

“Are you certain you don’t recognize me?” the man asked, noticing Nico’s gaze. He walked over to the sword and kicked it farther into the woods.

Instead of answering, the son of Hades sized him up. The young demigod had grown taller in the last three years, but this guy still had at least a half a foot on him, towering over him at about six and a half feet. He was built, powerful but not heavy, but Nico had felt how much he could put behind a punch. His jaw ached and he could already feel it starting to swell.

“You’re one of the old demigods, right? Heracles is still on his island and I’ve met Achilles. Theseus maybe?” Nico had no idea who this guy was but with that kind of power at his command, one of the ancient demigods was a safe bet. How’d he get out of the Underworld?

The man laughed, but the sound held no mirth. The younger demigod shifted his weight, balancing on the balls of his feet so he could move quickly. His right arm screamed at him, but he had to ignore it and hope he could find an opening that he could exploit. Nico had to get to Jason and Piper to see if they were okay.

Scanning the area, the son of Hades checked for shadow. There was a pool of it just off to his right a few yards. He began to inch closer to it, eyes locked on the man in front of him. If Nico could just get to the shadow, he could get the Hades out of here, grab Jason and Piper and get them the hell back to camp before this guy could ever register they were gone.

The man watched nonchalantly. Nico doubted he knew what the son of Hades could do, so he took his time, moving closer and closer to where he wanted to be, but never looking at directly again. He kept his eyes on the man.

He was almost in range when a bolt of lightning slammed into the shadow Nico was aiming for. The force of the impact threw him backwards, slamming him sideways into a tree. Head ringing, he tasted ozone in the back of his throat—that weird after-a-storm smell. His ears rang and his eyes still hadn’t cleared when he felt the front of his shirt grabbed and his feet leave the ground.

“Going somewhere, son of Hades?”

“You know who I am?” he asked, sounding dazed and shaky.

Bucky and Steve bounded into the clearing, then stopped, hackles raised in a threat display. Their low growls filled the air at the sight of their master. Bucky began to circle while Steve dug his claws into the hard-packed earth.

The man raised his hand and Nico finally knew who he was dealing with. The king of the gods’ lightning bolt glimmered in the stranger’s fist. “Zeus,” he coughed, glance darting to his dogs.

“Call them off or I’ll vaporize them where they stand,” the Lord of the Heavens ordered. He shook Nico, which made Steve growl even louder.

Nico felt like he’d been doused with icy water. His hellhounds—a gift from his father—were his friends. He couldn’t let anything happen to them. And Zeus was right—his bolt would vaporize them where they stood.

Nico couldn’t let that happen.

“Bucky, Steve,” he called out, voice as firm as he could make it. “Dismissed!”

Bucky sat down and cocked his head, as if he couldn’t believe the order. Steve just kept on growling.

“Ten seconds,” Zeus warned, pulling Nico close so he could count down next to his ear. “Nine. Eight…”

“Guys, go! I’ll call you when I need you. That’s an order!” He tried to ignore the way his voice shook with fear.

Bucky whined but faded into darkness. Steve snapped his teeth at Zeus, but he complied as well. Nico relaxed infinitesimally when the dogs were gone. At least they were safe.

“Excellent,” Zeus said, setting Nico back on his feet. As he did so, he reared back and punched him in the face.

The young man staggered back, reeling. He heard the sickening crack of his nose breaking, felt the nauseating pain crawl up his throat. Warm blood poured down his face.

He managed to look up at Zeus, eyes watering. “What do you want?” he panted. He had no idea what could have happened that necessitated a celestial beatdown. What was Zeus even doing here? Olympus had been quiet since the camps had defeated Gaea. The gods had gone back to seemingly ignoring their offspring entirely.

“Your father took something from me,” Zeus said, walking over to him. “I’m just getting a little of it back.”

“I don’t have it, whatever it is,” the son of Hades told the Olympian. He backed up a step on shaking legs. He had no idea what Zeus was talking about. There had been no quests to find the missing thing—whatever it was—and not a mention of an impending argument in the Underworld or on earth. Camp Half-Blood would have heard about something that could set the gods at one anothers’ throats.

“I know you don’t, boy.” Zeus made a grab for him. Nico dodged, and kicked out at Zeus’ hands on instinct.

“Then tell me what he took and I’ll get it back for you!” He spat out blood, watching the god cautiously.

In response, Zeus rushed him. Nico dodged again, but this time the Olympian was ready. Nico blocked punches as best he could with one good arm, but he knew Zeus was toying with him. What he didn’t know was why. If the Lord of the Heavens wanted him dead, he could have destroyed him with the lightning bolt at any time. What was he up to?

Zeus caught Nico’s good arm by the wrist and began to squeeze. The son of Hades felt the bone buckle and dropped to his knees in agony. In sheer desperation, he summoned the dead: skeletons of animals and people erupted around them.

Nico felt strong hands close around his throat as he was slammed into the ground. The smell of ozone filled the air once more and the demigod felt all of his skeletons disintegrate into piles of white ash. He scrabbled at the hands choking him, cutting off his air, fighting through the pain of a broken wrist and dislocated shoulder. He tried to buck against the heavy body on top of him, but the Olympian had him pinned down. The son of Hades had gained weight and height, but no mortal—or half-mortal—could best Zeus.

“Stop, please,” Nico rasped out, still struggling even as he felt his limbs grow weak and clumsy. A roaring filled his ears. He couldn’t get any air into his lungs. He was only a few seconds away from passing out.

He felt Zeus’s hold on his neck change, one hand moving away from his throat. The other hand still squeezed but Nico could draw in a little air. He still had no idea what he, or rather his father, had done to anger Zeus, but he hoped he lived long enough to find out.

The god’s free hand dipped down between their bodies and worked at Nico’s belt. Icy fear burned through the son of Hades as Zeus got tired of bothering with it and just snapped the leather in two.

“Wait, no, what are you doing?” Nico felt a surge of adrenaline fill him and he struggled with all of his strength. He didn’t care about his shoulder or his wrist; he just needed to get the hell away from whatever was going on here.

He managed to get his forearm under Zeus’ chin and tried to push him away, ignoring the pain that caused tears to stream down his face. The Olympian snarled, flipping Nico over onto his stomach as if he weighed nothing, hand still on his neck.

“Get the fuck off of me!” the son of Hades shouted as he felt Zeus’ hand once again at the waist of his jeans.

Terror galvanized him. He pulled on everything he had, all of his strength and Underworld power. He screamed out his rage as the king of the gods shoved his face into the dirt. Great cracks opened up, fissures in the earth that smoked and burned. The souls of the dead answered the call of the Ghost King. The temperature dropped by twenty degrees in a matter of seconds as Nico poured all his power into getting free of Zeus.

The Olympian simply fisted his hand in Nico’s hair, grabbing him by his ponytail and slammed they boy’s head into the ground once, twice, thrice.

Nico was unconscious before the third blow.

 

He woke to pain. And cold. Shivers ripped through him and he was unable to stop them. As he came to awareness, he realized dimly that he was probably in shock. He could hear Will’s voice in his head describing the symptoms to him. Nico didn’t know how long he’d been out, but the sun was setting.

Zeus was nowhere to be seen.

Nico tried to pull himself up onto his knees but could barely move. Memories came in disjointed jolts. He knew he was in bad shape, knew he had to make it back to Camp Half-Blood, knew he needed to find Jason and Piper, but he was having a hard time making his muscles work. He managed to pull up his jeans and boxers with the least wounded of his hands, refusing to think about what happened when he was unconscious. The first order of business was to get help. He could try and figure out what happened later.

Putting two fingers in his mouth, he whistled for Bucky and Steve. The sound made his head pound. Trying to move made him wretch, the head wound making him sick. As he was coughing up bile, his hellhounds materialized instantly in front of him, black coats still swirling with dark vapor. Bucky ran to him, trying to lick him, but Steve was more cautious, only nudging him with his wet nose.

“Good boys,” Nico whispered, throat raw and sore. His voice sound strained and small. He wound trembling fingers into Steve’s coat, felt Bucky eel beneath him so that he could lift Nico up onto Steve’s back. “Good hounds. Best friends.” He was close to passing out as Steve climbed to his feet.

“Bucky, find Jason and Piper.” His voice wasn’t working very well and the world was growing very dark around him. “Steve, take me home.” Nico thought of Will Solace, his hair bright around his head like a halo. That was home to him, more than Camp Half-Blood.

 

***

Shouts alerted Will that something was very wrong. He’d been hanging out at the Big House, doing inventory on the medical supplies while he waited for Nico and the others to return from their demigod rescuing. He knew that they would come to the Big House first with the new kid and he wanted to be there when his boyfriend got back.

His heart pounding in his chest like it was going to break free of his body, Will bounded down the stairs two at a time. Had something happened? Did one of them come back injured? Or worse?

What if it was Nico?

Will felt the world dim alarmingly. No, Nico was tough, he was a survivor. Everything was fine. If anything, it was probably the mystery demigod that needed healing. Still, he raced out the front doors to where the shouting was. His healing skills would be needed.

He froze on the porch as he saw what awaited him. Steve, Nico’s hellhound, was crouched, hackles up, and growling at everyone who had gathered around him. Fangs were bared, his lips curled up so far that Will could see the hound’s gums and all of the rows of his sharp teeth. He wasn’t letting anyone near him or Nico. Shadows and mist curled around his paws. What had happened out there to spook the normally playful hellhound so much?

Draped on his back, barely conscious, was the son of Hades. Will raced forward, calling the other demigod’s name. He didn’t care if Steve did bite his head off—the dog could try, but that was _his_ boyfriend in pain up there. Olympus itself couldn’t stop him.

Amazingly, Steve dropped to his stomach at Will’s approach. Nico tried to slide off the hound’s back, but he was in bad shape. The son of Apollo gasped when he saw the other demigod’s face, taking in the blood and broken nose and bruises. Nico’s throat was a mass of purple and black. What in Hades had happened out there?

Will caught Nico as he collapsed in a slow slide off of Steve’s back. “I’ve got you,” he whispered into the dirt-matted hair, uncaring of the tears that fell from his eyes. “I’m here, Nico.”

The young man groaned when Will swept him up in his arms and hurried inside the Big House. “Zeus,” he managed to get out in a voice raspy and dull with injury and pain before his head lolled back in unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh, yes. Will is not handling this well at all.

Will had no idea what he looked like, but it must have been frightening because everyone immediately backed off except for Chiron. The centaur ordered him upstairs to deal with Nico and began to talk to the campers that had gathered to see what the commotion was. Will didn’t wait to hear what the old centaur was saying; he had his arms full of injured boyfriend to take care of.

He put Nico down on a bed in a private room—the same room he’d stuck him in three years ago after the battle with Gaea. No matter who else might inhabit it, Will would always think of it as Nico’s room. It was his once again now.

And the fact that it was made Will shake with fury.

Where were Jason and Piper? Were they dead? A thousand questions ran through Will’s head, but he did his best to ignore all of them as he examined the demigod before him.

He assessed the obvious damage first. Broken nose. Concussion. Broken wrist. Dislocated shoulder. Various contusions and abrasions. Massive bruising to the throat, but his larynx wasn’t crushed, thank the gods.

Will cut Nico’s shirt off of him so he didn’t have to manhandle the young man any more than necessary. Next the healer pulled off his shoes and jeans so he could make sure there were no broken bones in his legs. He noticed that the leather belt that Nico always wore was snapped in two, but didn’t think to wonder why until…

There was dried blood on the back of Nico’s thighs.

Will staggered backwards as if he’d received a hammer blow, shoulder blade slamming into the corner of the open door. He didn’t even feel the pain of it as he stared at the bruises in the shape of fingerprints all over Nico’s pale flesh.

Oh no. No. Nononononononononono.

Will Solace had never felt true hate before. Not even in the Titan war when his cabinmates were dying. He’d been angry and scared and sad and a host of other things, but he’d never hated. He was a healer. He didn’t wish harm on anyone.

Seeing what had been done to his boyfriend, the person he loved most in this world, made rage flow through his veins like lava, hot and rich and so powerful he thought he’d burn up from the inside out. Will _hated_ whoever had done this. He would see that person dead and burned and the ashes mixed with salt and buried under the unconsecrated earth of a crossroads. _After_ he’d made them suffer.

Shaking his head, Will dropped Nico’s jeans from trembling hands and tried to calm himself. He needed to get the son of Hades cleaned up and bandaged before he could think of anything else. In a voice that sounded pretty close to normal, he called out for clean cloths, a basin of water, a cart of supplies, nectar and ambrosia. When he had everything he needed, he turned away all offers of help and set to work.

He would see to Nico personally. The son of Hades would prefer it that way. Three years still hadn’t changed Nico’s intense need for privacy and Will wasn’t going to betray that now.

Will carefully cleaned the blood and dirt from Nico’s face and head. Gentle fingers threaded through the son of Hades’ dark hair to feel for matted blood. He felt a large lump near Nico’s temple, along with a smaller one near the back of his head. Just a concussion, Will’s senses told him. Not a skull fracture. Thank the gods for small favors.

Nico’s nose was broken. With a fresh cloth, Will cleaned the demigod’s face, before resetting the bone. The son of Hades groaned in pain, but didn’t wake up. He put a reassuring hand on Nico’s forehead, whispering soothing words as the young man twitched and shuddered. The healer sent up a grateful prayer to his father. Just let his boyfriend stay unconscious through the examination and binding of his wounds, and Will would sacrifice whatever his father wanted.

Once he’d determined the rest was just scrapes and bruises and swelling on his face and throat, Will turned to his dislocated shoulder. He needed to pop it back into place before giving Nico any nectar so that it would heal properly. As quickly and gently as he could, Will moved the shoulder back into place. Nico thrashed, but the son of Apollo held him down and soothed him once more until he subsided.

He moved on to Nico’s opposite wrist, feeling like he was bathed in sweat from controlling his emotions. The examination would have been easier with someone helping but there was no way. The evidence of some kind of sexual assault demanded care –Will knew how rumors ran through the camp and he didn’t want that becoming one of them. Nico was his; it was up to him to protect him.

_And you did such a good job of that, didn’t you, Solace_ , the nasty voice inside of Will’s head hissed as he felt around Nico’s damaged wrist. _You just sat here, all safe and sound while he went out and had this happen to him. How exactly is being a coward protecting him?_

Will did his best to ignore the voice inside his head. He remembered all the talks he had with Nico about his Tartarus voice. Will had never been to that cursed place, but he understood an internal voice that did its best to convince you of how worthless you were. But it had no place here, now. Will could have his breakdown later, once he was sure Nico would be okay.

_Okay?_ the voice scoffed. _Don’t be an idiot, Solace. You saw the blood there. You know what **that** means._

SHUT UP, he snarled, willing the voice to leave him alone.

Nico’s wrist had broken clean, and there was no need for Will to reset. He immobilized it in an air cast so it couldn’t move around before the nectar began to heal the damage. Leaning back on his heels, Will snapped off his latex gloves and rubbed his eyes.

Only one more injury to deal with. The son of Apollo took a deep, calming breath and stared at his boyfriend for a moment. Nico’s mobile mouth was pinched in pain, creases between his brows even in unconsciousness. The sooner Will finished, the sooner he could give him some nectar and ambrosia to jump start the healing.

He ran his hand through the silky hair once more. The last three years had been the happiest of Will’s life. He’d never thought he’d find someone so perfect for him, but Nico had appeared in his life like a gift. The son of Hades was everything Will had ever wanted without even knowing it. With no other prophecies shared and the wars seemingly over, Will had thought nothing could touch them.

Nico groaned in pain again, stirring slightly on the bed. Will gloved up again, gritting his teeth. He could do this.

Pulling the sheet down to Nico’s knees, Will first cleaned away the dried blood. His hands were remarkably steady as he gently scrubbed at Nico’s pale skin. He forced himself not to look at the purple finger shaped bruises that decorate the son of Hades’ slim hips.

Will worked quickly. He had everything he needed for a rape kit and he put everything aside that he thought would be useful. He doubted it would be necessary though; Nico was a child of one of the Big Three and enormously powerful. Whatever had hurt him hadn’t been human. As Will worked, he saw there was no tearing, thank Apollo, nothing that Will had to stitch. Blood didn’t make for good lube, but it had probably helped in this instance.

Jason Grace burst in holding Nico’s black sword just as Will was finishing. His blue eyes went wide with shock, taking in Nico’s battered, naked form before flashing up to meet the healer’s face. The son of Apollo glared at him, wanted to yell, to scream for him to get out, but words wouldn’t come. Nico had said Zeus before he’d passed out. And here was one incarnation of Zeus’ son.

He wanted very much to take Nico’s sword and shove it all the way through Jason’s body.

The son of Jupiter’s eyes flashed from the bruises on Nico’s body to Will’s face and back again. His mouth opened and closed, as if he couldn’t make his voice work. Gritting his teeth, Will leashed his temper. Violence wouldn’t help Nico and Jason hadn’t done anything.

_That’s right_ , the voice inside Will whispered. _He didn’t **do** anything_. Where was Grace when the Zeus aspect of his father was. . . assaulting Wll’s boyfriend?

“Is he…?” Jason began as Will pulled the sheet up once more to cover Nico. He looked away, face flushed.

Will growled, cutting Grace’s words off. He was not going to talk about this right now. Instead, he ordered, “Help me sit him up so I can get some nectar in him.”

Putting the Stygian blade next to the bed, Jason helped Will turn Nico onto his back and then lifted his head and shoulders gently off the bed. While Will poured nectar into a cup, the healer whispered, “Where the hell were you and Piper? Why weren’t you with him?”

Jason looked like he wanted to impale himself on the nearest sharp object. At least they had that in common. Will wanted to impale him too.

“We split up. Nico had Bucky and Steve. We figured it would take less time. I had no idea something bad had happened until Bucky came and got us.” He looked down at Nico with worry and pain in his blue gaze. “Did he say anything?”

“One word,” Will bit out. “Zeus.”

Jason went white to the lips. He didn’t pay Jason any more mind after that. The son of Apollo leaned over, slipping his arm behind Nico’s neck and lifted the cup to his slack lips. “I need you to drink this, Nico,” he whispered. “Please, Spooky. For me.”

Will got a bit of the nectar past the young man’s lips, watching with relief as Nico’s throat worked to swallow. Slowly, he dribbled a bit more, then a little more. With each sip, the son of Hades seemed to come closer to awareness, until after the fourth or fifth sip, his eyes cracked open. Will almost sagged in relief.

The deep brown eyes were fogged with pain and bewilderment, but he was awake. Will urged, “Drink a little more.” Nico complied, eyes slipping shut when it hurt to swallow.

“What happened?” the son of Hades asked after he finished the cup.

Jason slid out from under Nico, letting the demigod’s weight rest all on Will. He looked pale, uncomfortable. “I’m going to tell Chiron he’s awake.” He gripped Nico’s good shoulder. “I’m glad you’re awake, buddy.”

He disappeared out the door before either of them could protest. Not that Will felt much like protesting. Right now he didn’t want to even acknowledge the son of Jupiter existed, let alone look at his handsome face.

Reaching for the ambrosia, Will asked, “How do you feel?”

Nico chewed and swallowed absently. Already Will could see a change for the better in his boyfriend: the bruises around his throat were less intense, the swelling of his nose and face had gone down, and he seemed a bit more alert, which indicated that the concussions might be healing.

“Like a god beat the snot out of me.” Nico leaned heavily against Will, his brow furrowed in concentration. “How’d I get here?”

“Steve brought you in.” He paused, taking a deep breath. “Do you remember anything?”

Nico shook his head, but his eyes were very far away. Will longed to know what his boyfriend was thinking.

“So why weren’t Bucky and Steve with you? It’s not like them to leave you unprotected. ” Will couldn’t help but ask. Those hellhounds would have fought to their deaths for Nico, that much Will knew.

The son of Hades slumped against him, shudders tearing through him. Will wrapped his arms around his boyfriend as carefully as possible, not wanting to jar or hurt him. When Nico spoke, his voice was a tormented husk of sound. “Zeus threatened to vaporize them with the master bolt if I didn’t send them away. I remember that.”

Will pressed a kiss to the top of Nico’s head. Inside though, his guts churned with fury. Damn Zeus. Damn him straight to Tartarus. He’d made Nico choose between himself and his hounds, which was no damn choice at all.

“They’re fine,” the son of Apollo assured him, voice soothing. He knew Nico would have gladly sacrificed himself to see his hounds safe and would be worrying. He tried to lighten the mood. “Although I bet Chiron is going to have to set up the world’s largest dog beds on the porch because Bucky and Steve didn’t look like they’re going anywhere. Steve almost didn’t let me near you when you came in.”

“I don’t remember,” Nico whispered.

“It’s common with a concussion like yours.” Will placed his cheek against the wild disarray that was Nico’s hair. “You may remember and you may not—there’s no predicting a head injury.” He felt Nico shift as if trying to get comfortable. “What still hurts? Did the nectar help?”

“I ache. Shoulder, wrist, nose, throat.” Will saw the flush creep up Nico’s face and wondered what else he was leaving out. But he didn’t want to press. Not now.

“I’ll give you some more in a little while,” he said, slowly getting off the bed. “But you’ll feel better if you rest.”

Nico looked up him, eyes dark. “Will?” There was something in his voice, something that told the healer that the son of Hades knew he wasn’t being told everything.

“Rest, Nico.” He put a smile on his face. “Doctor’s orders.”

It was worth it to see the son of Hades grin like that, even if Will didn’t feel much like smiling. Nico looked up at him through messy, overlong bangs and asked, “Stay with me?”

“Of course.” Like his boyfriend even had to ask. He helped Nico into a set of old scrubs he kept in the Big House in case things got too busy for him to head to his cabin to change. As much as he would love the feel of his boyfriend’s lithe naked body pressed against him, he wanted Nico to feel safe and comfortable.

Nico winced and hissed as Will helped him into the shirt and pants. He said nothing about his state of undress, which suited Will just fine. The son of Apollo was barely holding onto his temper as it was. For once, the healer was actually grateful for a head injury.

When the son of Hades was settled back under the blankets, Will gave him another small cup of nectar, then sat in the chair by the bed. Placing the cup on the end table, Nico raised an eyebrow at him. “What are you doing over there?”

“You said to stay with you,” Will answered. Was the concussion worse than he originally thought? Was Nico having short term memory issues?

“Yeah, _with_ me.” The son of Hades patted the spot on the bed next to him. “Not me-adjacent.”

“Nico, you’re injured,” Will began, only to be cut off by his boyfriend’s scoff.

“I’m not planning on acrobatics, doofus. I just like it when you’re with me.” He flushed, but didn’t look away from Will.

The son of Apollo felt the red of a blush creeping up his neck to paint his face in warmth. For Nico, that was an admission of undying love right there. Will smiled and slipped off his shoes. Crawling under the covers, he whispered in Nico’s ear, “I like when I’m with you too.”

Nico made a contented noise and dropped off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

When next Nico woke, he felt much better. Clear headed, at least. His shoulder hurt less and he could move it without a lot of pain. He had a cast on his arm.

And a warm bundle of boyfriend holding him in his arms.

Leaning his head back against Will’s chest, the son of Hades sighed. He felt Will nuzzle the top of his head.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

Nico yawned, only wincing a little when it pulled at his still healing nose. His face felt tender from where he’d been punched and his head still hurt a bit, but he didn’t feel like a pile of hot buttered centaur leavings. He remembered vague snippets of events: calling for his dogs, Will carrying him inside, being made to drink something. But very little else after Zeus slammed his head into the ground.

“Better,” he told his boyfriend.

Will moved to sit up. Nico let him go, surprised when the son of Apollo got out of bed. He dropped into the chair beside it and surveyed Nico with worried blue eyes.

The son of Hades carefully sat up, feeling the aches in his body. He’d just gone three rounds with Zeus and lost spectacularly. It was to be expected. He searched Will’s face, not liking the expression he wore. Nico had never seen Will so uncomfortable, so closed off. The son of Apollo was usually an open book to him. Now his face was a shuttered blank.

“What do you remember?” Will asked, and there was something in his voice, something tight and hard that made Nico pay close attention. “About what happened?”

The son of Hades watched as Will’s hands wound around themselves, like snakes in a nest. His knuckles were white with the strength of his grip. “Will?” he asked softly, unsure what was going on with his boyfriend.

Solace shook his head, blond curls falling into his eyes. Nico’s good hand twitched to push the hair back, to soothe away the worried furrows on his forehead. He didn’t like seeing the boy he loved in pain. He wished he wasn’t the cause of it.

“Nico, I need to know. What happened with Zeus?” Will’s voice was raw, hoarse.

Blinking tiredly, the son of Hades cast back. “I was looking for the demigod. Jason and Piper and I split up to search. Steve and Bucky and I found him—wounded kid, maybe about fifteen. When I went to help him, he turned into Zeus.” Nico cocked his head. “I thought I told you about this?”

Will made a _keep going_ gesture, one he’d picked up from Nico. The son of Hades sighed. “I didn’t know who he was, not at first. I thought he might have been one of the old demigods, sprung from the Underworld, until he blasted me with lightning when I tried to shadow travel, and then threatened the dogs.”

He absently rubbed at his shoulder, then continued. “I remember he got me on the ground. Choking me. I threw skeletons at him. He destroyed them like they were nothing.” His eyes fell on his discarded clothes, and the broken leather belt. “Uh, I . . . oh.”

He closed his eyes. “He turned me over, tried to get my belt off. I used everything I had, but then he just slammed my head into the ground. I don’t remember anything else.”

Feeling a warm touch on his good hand, Nico opened his eyes. Will’s face was a mask of rage; he’d never seen the healer so angry before, not even at him. The son of Apollo was doing his best to control his expression, but Nico could tellhow hard he was trying to keep his face impassive, distant, calm. “It’s okay, Will. I’m okay,” Nico assured him.

“How can you say that?” his boyfriend burst out, voice choked with rage and anguish, rising to his feet.

“Because it’s true!” Nico rose to his knees on the bed, watching as Will paced around the small room like an angry cat. Gesturing with his good hand, he said, “I’m here, I’m alive.”

“Zeus raped you!” came the shout.

Nico expected to flinch when Will finally put it out there. He surprised even himself when he just shrugged. “I guess so. I mean, I don’t usually wind up with my pants around my knees after a fight.” He smiled tentatively, trying to get through to the healer, to make him act like the Will he knew. “Unless it’s with you.” Humor usually worked to pull him out of a bad mood.

He’d miscalculated how upset Will was though. His boyfriend gaped at him. “How can you joke about it?” he sputtered. Raising his voice, he yelled, “Why are you so calm about this?”

The son of Hades’ patience snapped. “Because I don’t remember anything that happened, Will! I was beaten into unconsciousness! What do you want from me?” He climbed out of bed, staggering a little as the world spun alarmingly. Will stared at him like he didn’t know him and that hurt worse than anything Zeus could ever do to his body.

“Do you want me to pretend I remember something I don’t? Do you want me curl up in a ball and sob about it? I can if that would make you feel better!” Nico watched as Will stopped pacing to stare at him, eyes wide in shock.

Nico gritted out the next part, feeling sick and dizzy. He shouldn’t have gotten up, but Will expecting him to act a certain way just pissed him off. “All I know for sure is that I woke up, in pain, with my jeans around my feet and my blood on me and the only thing I could think about was coming home to you! Is that what you wanted to hear?” His voice had risen to a shout by the end of it.

The next thing he knew, he had an armful of upset Will Solace pressed into him. Nico put his arms around his boyfriend, shushing him softly, as Will shuddering against him. “I’m sorry,” the healer whispered into his hair.

“I’m okay,” the son of Hades assured him, digging his fingers into Will’s strong back.

Nico’s knees chose that moment to give out on him completely. Will grabbed at him, holding him up. Nico felt all of his adrenaline drain out of him, leaving him weak and shaky, wrung out like a washcloth. Will supported his weight, guiding him back to the bed.

“You’re not,” Will told him, not quite a scold. “You’re still healing.”

“Guess so,” he answered, just glad to have his boyfriend’s arms back around him and Will not scowling at him like he’d done something wrong for not remembering. “This is good medicine though.” He burrowed his forehead into the join between Will’s neck and shoulder. “The best.”

Huffing out a tight laugh, Will tried to pull away, but Nico wouldn’t let him go. “Will,” he said, voice firm. “ _Talk_ to me.”

Will shook his head, face set in mulish lines. “I’m fine. It’s you I’m worrying about, Spooky.”

Nico gave him a look that told his boyfriend just how much he believed that. “What’s going through your head, Solace? I’ve never seen you like this.”

Will pulled away completely, getting up. “Yeah, well, it’s not every day…,” he trailed off, jaw clenched and eyes burning. He stopped, took a breath, and began once more. “Are you going to tell your father?”

Nico tensed. Why couldn’t Will let this drop? Was he trying to start a war between the gods? And for what? Zeus was an asshole, everyone knew that, and consent had never exactly been high on his list of priorities in ancient times. “Have you lost your mind?” he asked Will, unable to keep the incredulity from his voice.

“You need to tell somebody!” Will’s hands clenched into fists.

The son of Hades rubbed at his temples, feeling more and more tired and dizzy. Nectar and ambrosia didn’t work on him the way it did most demigods—not after his trip with the Athena Parthenos three years ago. He’d nearly burned himself out, even with the unicorn draught and nectar Reyna and Coach Hedge had given him. He must have built up a resistance to the stuff.

“Why, Will?” Nico wanted to shout, but his throat hurt and he didn’t want to be having this fight. “What good would it do? It’s not like anyone can actually punish Zeus anyway. All it’s going to do is make Hades angry, and for what?”

Nico didn’t think of himself as worthless, not anymore, and he’d come to terms with being gay. But he also wasn’t an idiot and he didn’t believe in wasting a lot of time or effort on things that couldn’t be helped. Demigod lives were like candle flames to the gods. Most of the time, they barely noticed the passing of their offspring.

The son of Apollo fisted his hands in his hair. He looked one step away from screaming in frustration. Nico had no idea what to do or how to help. Clearly everything he said was coming out wrong.

“Will, come here. Please.” It was a whisper, a plea. “I don’t…can we not do this right now?”

Nico watched Will pale, sorrow and anguish sliding across his face. He crossed the room in two strides and sank down on the bed, gathering Nico in his arms. The dark haired demigod held onto him tightly, closing his eyes in relief. This is what he wanted, what he needed from his boyfriend.

“I’m sorry,” Will said again, words muffled in the silk of Nico’s dark hair. “I just. . . I’m sorry.”

Nico made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat and leaned against his boyfriend’s firm chest. Will sat back, braced against the headboard of the bed, arms still wrapped around the son of Hades. Yawning, Nico nestled deeper into Will’s embrace, sighing when the healer began to run gentle fingers through his hair.

This was home. This boy, those hands, that mind, this body. In Will’s arms Nico felt safe.

He slept.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will intrudes on Hades. It goes about as well as you'd expect.

Will waited until Nico was deeply asleep before getting up. The nectar and ambrosia would take care of the head trauma, so he wasn’t worried about needing to wake the son of Hades up every hour or so to ask the demigod how many fingers he was holding up and who the President was. He had somewhere else he needed to be at the moment.

The fury boiling inside of the son of Apollo had become unbearable. He couldn’t sit still, he couldn’t rest, and in such a state, he knew he wouldn’t be any good to Nico. He wanted answers, and by the gods he was going to get some, even if it meant tearing down Olympus itself.

Jason caught him as he was stomping down the stairs, taking out some of his rage on the poor, innocent wood. Jupiter’s son pulled his hand back when he saw the look on Will’s face.

“What, Grace?” the healer snarled, not bothering to stop. Jason fell into step beside him.

“How’s he doing?” Grace’s voice was irritatingly concerned. Where the hell was Grace when Nico was getting pummeled by Jason’s dad?

“How do you think?” He left the _moron_ unspoken, although the sentiment was pretty clear in his tone. “He’s sleeping. It’s the best thing for him right now.”

Will slammed through the front door, not having the time, patience, or inclination to coddle Superman any longer. Piper was sitting in one of the chairs, waiting for them. Will ignored the daughter of Aphrodite. Bucky and Steve stopped their pacing—they’d already worn down the grass in front of the porch in their waiting—to stare up at Will expectantly.

Jason’s voice was soft, a mutter, when he next spoke. “Were those bruises on his—”

Will didn’t give him a chance to complete that sentence; the healer grabbed the son of Jupiter and slammed him up against a porch post. “Do not say. Another. Word,” he hissed, forearm digging into Grace’s throat. “Not when your father is likely the one that put them there.”

Grace’s blue eyes went wide, the horrified look in them satisfying something dark and vengeful inside of Will. He should be horrified.

“I—I didn’t know…” Jason trailed off, making no move to get out of Will’s grip.

“Will, calm down,” Piper ordered, but she wasn’t using charmspeak so Will continued to ignore her. She grabbed at Will’s shoulder.

The son of Apollo pressed his forearm in harder once more before stepping away. “Now you do,” the healer growled at Jason, moving towards his boyfriend’s hellhounds.

“Solace, what are you planning?”

Not turning around, Will lifted his hand to Steve’s head, giving the hellhound a scratch behind an ear. “Zeus told Nico that Hades had taken something from him and what he did was payback. I’m going to find out what.”

Jason grabbed at Will’s arm, earning a growl from Steve. _Good dog, good friend_. Will jerked free, glad to be able to do something with some of the anger he was sitting on. “You can’t be serious!”

“This is a bad idea,” Piper said, eyes kind when she gazed at Will. “You shouldn’t go when you’re this upset.”

Will spun, glaring at Grace. “I’m going to talk to Hades.”

The son of Jupiter stilled, face growing serious. “I’m coming with you.” He leaned down and said something to Piper that the son of Apollo didn’t catch then straightened.

Will opened his mouth to protest, then shut it with a snap when Jason walked over to Bucky. Grace glanced at him, a challenge in his eyes. “Well, what are you waiting for?”

Scowling, Will climbed up on Steve, whispering in the hellhound’s ear, “Take me to Hades, Lord of the Underworld.”

 

***

 

Steve barreled out of shadow and into Persephone’s garden, interrupting a mack session between Hades and Nico’s stepmother. Will dropped his head into the fur around the hellhound’s neck, vowing he would find a way to invent brain bleach to remove the horror of that image as soon as he returned to camp. Bucky, carrying Jason, skidded to a stop beside him. Will signaled for Jason to follow him as he slid off of his mount.

Hades pulled away from Persephone as the two demigods approached, watching them with a raised brow. Will didn’t want to admit it, but Nico sometimes wore that same expression. The Lord of the Underworld stared at them impassively. It was like trying to out-patience a rock.

The god’s voice was surprisingly mild when he finally spoke. “Did my son send you?” He waved his hands at the hounds who sat still, tongues lolling.

Will swallowed nervously. Now that he was here, standing before the hella unnerving Lord of the Dead, he was no longer sure that running off in a rage to confront his boyfriend’s godly father was his best idea ever. Welp, too late now.

“What did you take from Zeus?” the son of Apollo barked, too angry to care if Hades killed him on the spot.

Hades scowled, glancing between Will and Jason. “Son of Jupiter,” the god began, ignoring Will, “what is the meaning of this?”

“Zeus attacked Nico!” Will refused to be dismissed. “He said you’d stolen something from him. So what is it?” He took a step closer to the god of the Underworld. “I hope whatever it was, it was worth having your so—”

“Will!” Jason shouted, grabbing the healer by the arm and dragging him back.

Gasping, the son of Apollo gritted his teeth, desperately striving to control his rage. The memory of the bruises and marks on Nico’s skin flashed before him, making him snarl and shake. He wanted to lash out, to hurt someone—anyone—to make himself feel better, to rid himself of this feeling of helplessness and anguish that had taken root in his chest.

“I have stolen NOTHING!” Hades’ voice boomed so loud the ground shook. Bucky and Steve cringed at the displeasure in his tone.

Will tried to shake off Grace’s hand, but the demigod just held on tighter, still trying to pull him back. “Then tell that to Zeus!”

“Shut up, Solace,” Grace grunted, shoving the son of Apollo behind him. Will punched the blond in the back. Jason shrugged it off like it was nothing, damn him.

Jason spoke to Hades with respect and calm. “Lord Hades, we do not mean to offend. But what Will says is true. Zeus attacked Nico and he said it was because of something you’d taken from him. I’m sure it was a misunderstanding, but Nico was hurt badly.”

Will looked around the barrier that was Jason’s body to see Hades’ nostrils flare. The god of the Underworld’s eyes burned with an unholy fire and Will felt like his blood had been replaced with icy water. He couldn’t look away from the banked fires ready to flare to life in his gaze.

“Where is my son?” Hades’ voice was soft, a trap, the threat of a lash wrapped in the softest silk.

“Infirmary,” Will said, mesmerized by those eyes. Nico’s eyes burned like that when he was well and truly angry.

The Lord of the Underworld was there one moment and gone the next. Will looked around, startled. Hades’ disappearance wasn’t showy or impressive like the other gods. It was like he simply decided to be elsewhere and took himself off in the most economical way possible. Huh.

Persephone eyed them, face unreadable. But when she spoke, her voice was kind. “Will he recover?”

Will nodded. “Yes, my lady. If I have anything to say about it.”

A hint of a smile quirked her pale lips. “I see. Then I suggest you get back to him. My husband is not always gentle when he is angry.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Hades is displeased.

Nico felt a hand on his shoulder and jerked awake. He immediately regretted it. The nectar had helped, but his body still protested any quick movements. “Will?” he muttered, blinking sleep from his eyes.

Will was nowhere to be seen.

His father stared down at him. Oh.

_Dammit, Solace_.

Hades’ jaw was clenched tight, dark eyes burning bright in his pallid face. Nico pushed himself up as best he could, happy that he could use his shoulder again. “Hello, Father.” What was he doing here? He’d never showed up when Nico’d been hurt before.

“What happened?”

Nico sighed. He had a bad feeling someone had gone and done something incredibly stupid. Someone who’s name started with the letter W and ended with the letter ILL. “I’m guessing you’ve already heard or you wouldn’t be here.”

Hades’ frowned. If they’d been outside, the grass would be wilting and browning around him. Nico shifted, uncomfortable with his father’s scrutiny.

“I would see,” Hades said, voice oddly gentle. He leaned forward, looming over the bed.

Nico held up a hand to stop him, heart in his throat. He did not like to be hovered over. His heart beat rapidly, and he was sure his father had noticed. Oh well, chalk up another one for his PTSD. “Hang on, let me get up.” He’d feel more comfortable meeting and talking to his father on his feet anyway.

He got out of bed slowly, moving gingerly because his head still throbbed. Once on his feet, he straightened, lifting his head so his father could see the bruises on his face and throat. Hades laid a cool finger on the side of his neck, face impassive as stone.

“Your Will mentioned something about Zeus,” Hades said without preamble, eyes still on his son’s throat.

Nico managed not to roll his eyes. Why didn’t Will listen to him about this? Although it did give him a burn of pride to hear his father call the healer _his_ Will. That was something pretty great, right there.

Nico nodded. Gods, he didn’t want to be talking about this with his father. He lowered his head, feeling his face heat in embarrassment. “He said you had taken something and he was getting some of his own back.”

The sound of pounding footsteps up the stairs made Nico turn. Will’s scrub pants—too long and too big for him slipped lower on his hips. He caught them, yanking them up, but not before Hades caught a glimpse of the finger shaped bruises on his body.

The lord of the Underworld went deathly still. Swallowing nervously, Nico sat back on the bed, wrapping his arms around himself. This was not happening. Nope. So not happening.

“Nico?” Hades voice was soft, almost . . . well, gentle. If a rockslide could be said to be gentle, anyway. It startled him, pulling his gaze up to his father’s face.

“I’m okay,” he told his father, and boy was he getting tired of that phrase. “I don’t remember it.”

“It was Zeus, though?” Hades’ voice grew distant, cold. “And he accused me of taking something?”

Nico nodded, licking dry lips, as his father seemed to grow taller. “He never said what though. It’s like he didn’t care about the theft, he just wanted . . .” he trailed off and turned his head away. Wanted what? To hurt him? To humiliate him? To send a message? All three?

The stillness that fell was a dangerous thing. It made Nico want to hide in a corner. Hades’ anger seethed in the small space, filling it, licking at the edges of Nico’s awareness. It wasn’t the heat of rage; no, the god of the Underworld’s wrath was cold like unplumbed depths, like caverns wet and dark beneath the earth. His anger was the icy darkness of a tomb.

Nico stayed where he was, pale and shivering. He didn’t want this, not any of it. This felt bigger, much bigger than whatever Zeus had done to him and it made him nervous. There was something he wasn’t seeing and it maddened him. What was he missing?

The oppressive silence grew more deadly as did Hades’ prideful rage. Nico stared as his godly father seemed to grow larger, more imposing. His presence expanded, taking up all the space in the room, and the folds of his robes shimmered with the souls of the damned.

It would only be a moment more before Hades’ snapped, Nico realized.

“Nico!” came Jason’s shout from the doorway.

God and demigod spun at the same time. Will was behind the son of Jupiter, looking murderous. Hades’ face had gone still as a statue’s, his hand rising up.

Nico didn’t even hesitate; just flung himself off the bed and in front of Jason and Will. “Don’t!” he shouted, spreading his arms out to shelter the two people he cared for most in the world.

Hades lowered his hand, a scowl on his face. He glared at Nico. “Move.”

Shaking his head, Nico stood his ground. “I’m not going to let you hurt them.” The pants he wore slipped low again, hanging off of one hip. He heard Jason gasp behind him. He ignored the sound, attention focused on his father.

“I have no interest in the son of Apollo.” Hades’ voice was the rumble of an earthquake, the slow grind of stone on stone.

“You’re not going to hurt Jason either.” Nico felt his legs shaking, but whether it was from exertion or fear, he couldn’t say.

“You think not?” the lord of the Underworld hissed, leaning forward. “I shall take a measure of Jupiter’s son, just as Zeus took the measure of mine.” Nico felt Jason stiffen behind him, his breath coming faster.

“Then you’ll go through me to do it,” Nico said quietly. His gaze never wavered from his father’s face. “Jason isn’t to blame and I won’t see him punished.”

Hades snarled, eyes burning embers surrounded by darkness. “You do not order me, son of mine.”

“I’m not ordering.” Nico lowered his voice, pitched it into a simple plea. “I’m asking.” He took a shaking step forward. “Please, Father.”

Hades practically vibrated with unreleased rage. Nico held back a flinch when his father’s eyes swept over him, but he held his ground. This was the problem with the gods—the grudges, the need for revenge, the needless conflict. Nico wasn’t going to lose his best friend in some misguided attempt to avenge his honor. Or whatever it was Hades thought he was doing.

The god of the Underworld frowned, then disappeared in a snarl of ripping silk.

Will and Jason caught Nico as he sagged in relief. Facing down his father was possibly the scariest thing he’d ever done. Taking a shaking breath, he let Will lead him back to sit on the edge of the bed. Brushing black hair out of his eyes, he glanced at Jason.

“You okay?”

“Dude, your dad was going to obliterate me.” He gave Nico a shaky grin. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” The son of Hades turned his dark gaze to his boyfriend. “I thought I told you to leave it, Will.” His voice was thin, tired. He rubbed at his eyes, feeling them prickle.

Biting his lip, Will refused to meet his eyes.

Thunder rumbled outside. The sky grew dark, clouds rolling in to obscure the sun. A sudden powerful wind rattled the windows of the Big House. A hard pattering of rain struck the glass, making the panes shiver. Nico could swear he felt the earth shake beneath his feet.

Jason met his gaze, blue eyes wide and worried. “You don’t think…?” he began.

Nico nodded his head. “Yeah, I do.”

“What?” Will asked, finally looking up. His mouth was stretched in a tight line, anger in the set of his shoulders. “What are you guys talking about?”

“NICO!” It was Hazel’s voice on the stairs.

Nico glared at Will who held up his hands. “Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t call her!”

“I had Piper do it,” Jason said in a quiet voice. “We were worried and I thought she should know.”

Before Nico could speak, Hazel entered the room like a miniature tornado. Her coppery curls were blown wild from the gusting wind outside that rattled the panes of the windows. She flung herself at Nico, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. His breath rushed out of him in a huff. He put a hand on her trembling shoulder.

“Hey Hazel,” he murmured, keeping his voice low and easy. “It’s good to see you.” He ran his hands up and down her back, trying to soothe.

She lifted her head from where she’d buried it in his chest. Her eyes were wet. She gave a tight laugh and said, “I was worried sick when Piper called.”

“You didn’t have to rush over here.” A crack of thunder made him jump. “I’m fine.”

His sister put her palms to his cheeks, forcing him to stare into her eyes. “How could I stay away?” she whispered, eyes gleaming gold. “You’d do the same for me.”

And he would. He would sit by her bedside, sleep on the floor—Hades, he’d figure out how to hang from the ceiling by his feet if it meant he could look after her. Nico nodded, pressing his forehead to hers.

“I brought Reyna,” she told him.

He rolled his eyes. Was there anyone who hadn’t shown up? He felt warmed by their concern; his eyes skipped to Will to see him frowning, gaze turned inward. He’d crossed his arms in front of his chest, the scowl on his face truly epic on scope.

Lightning split the sky, turning everything in the room white. Nico blinked in the afterimage. Jason stood by the window watching the storm. With his Underworld sense, Nico could feel the dead stirring.

This was not good.

Setting Hazel aside, he stood. “I need to get to Olympus.”

Will finally looked at him, mouth opening and closing in confusion. He managed to get out “Why?” on the third try.

“Because I need to stop a war between my father and Zeus.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will inches ever closer to losing his sh*t. This time all over Olympus.

Will didn’t know who he was angrier with: himself or Nico. Well, Zeus was still front runner for the crown, but after him.

The confrontation with Hades hadn’t gone like he had expected—not that he had any idea of what would happen or how the god of the Underworld would react when the son of Apollo just randomly showed up to spew venom. Will had hoped it would make him feel better about what Zeus had done to Nico, that it would drain away some of his rage to rail at Hades or point him like a loaded gun at the other Olympian.

He hadn’t expected it not to help.

Will still felt twisted up inside, burned raw and hurting in places he’d never even known he had. He wanted to curl up and die, he wanted to lash out and hurt everyone, he wanted to grab his boyfriend and hold him forever, he wanted to scream until his throat collapsed. He wanted to do all of these things at once and none of them.

He didn’t know what he wanted.

“You’re not going anywhere, di Angelo,” he snapped instead, glaring at Nico as the other demigod pushed himself to his feet.

Nico didn’t look good. The rest had helped, but he was still paper-pale, the half-healed bruises standing out like livid blooms on the chalky flesh. His eyes were glassy and exhausted looking, his hair a snarl of tangles. He carried his shoulder like it still bothered him, and then there was the cast on his wrist.

Gaze flashing up from the floor, Nico shot him an angry look. “You don’t get a say in this, _Solace_ ,” he ground out. Will hid a flinch at hearing the scorn placed on his last name. Oh yeah, he only called Nico by his last name when they were in the middle of a fight.

Well, Will guessed they sort of were.

“I’m going to need actual clothes. Jason, can you grab me some from my cabin?” He turned to Hazel. “I’ve got to get cleaned up.”

She reluctantly let him go, slanting a glance at Will. “I’ll just go and find Frank. Fill him in.”

Nico dropped his forehead into his palm. The son of Apollo would laugh if the situation wasn’t so fraught. The son of Hades hated anyone making a fuss over him. “Did you guys invite all of Camp Jupiter?”

Jason just grinned and followed Hazel downstairs, tossing off a quick, “Be right back.”

That left Will and Nico alone. “You’re not going to Olympus,” the healer ordered.

“I find it hilarious that you think you have a say in this.” Nico’s dark eyes narrowed. “Especially after I expressly told you I did _not_ want to tell my father.”

Will felt the flush creep up his neck, a slow burn of red heat. Nico was right. He’d gone ahead and done what he wanted without thinking about what his boyfriend wanted. But Hades had a right to know! And how else was Zeus going to be punished?

“What did you expect me to do?” Will burst out. “I couldn’t just do nothing!”

“I expected you,” Nico said, raising his voice to talk over him, “to listen to what I wanted.”

Damn it. Will stared at the floor unable to meet his boyfriend’s eyes. “I’m sorry.” He still sounded more petulant than regretful. He didn’t understand what was wrong with him. Then he whispered, “Don’t go.”

Nico huffed out a breath of frustration, dragging a hand through his snarled black hair. He stepped over to the healer, close enough to touch but didn’t reach out. “You know I have to.”

“Why?” Will burst out, anguished. “Just let Hades handles it.”

As if in counterpoint to his words, a crack of lightning lit up the room like an acetylene torch, thunder booming after it, gunshot-loud. The wind roared outside, whipping leaves and branches past the window.

Now Nico reached out, fingers touching Will’s jawline. The son of Apollo closed his eyes, holding himself stiff, anger threatening to shake him apart. He wanted Nico here and safe, with him. He didn’t want him within a square mile of Zeus.

“You think it’s safe to let this go on?” the son of Hades asked him in a hushed voice.

“You think it’s safe for you to go?” the healer countered, pulling away from his boyfriend.

But Will knew it was useless. Nico would go to Olympus because that’s who Nico was. And Will loved him for it, admired him because it wasn’t always an easy path, but it was the right one. He could always count on Nico to make the hard decisions. It didn’t mean he liked it, not in this case.

“I don’t think I have a choice,” was the answer he got, but Nico wrapped cool fingers around his wrist, trying to tug him closer. “Talk to me, Will. Tell me what’s going on beneath those ridiculous curls.”

Will opened his mouth to speak, to tell him his hair was awesome, that the son of Hades only wished his hair could aspire to this level of greatness. He could feel words at the point of his tongue, words that instead would speak of hurt and confusion and betrayal. But then Jason burst in, arms full of black clothes.

“Sorry,” he said, blushing a little, though it was hard for Will to spot beneath the wind-lashed red of his cheeks. “I brought the first things that came to hand.”

Nico changed quickly, then pulled back on his shoes. Will couldn’t watch his boyfriend, but he could stare at Jason Grace and see him flinch when Nico pulled jeans over the mottled bruises and half-healed signs of abuse. He felt a burn of satisfaction to see the pain on Grace’s face.

“How are you going to get there?” Will asked.

“I’m going to take Steve. I can ask him to take me to my father. That should work.” He looked around for his sword, then realized that he didn’t have anything to belt it on to. He put the blade back down.

“I’m going with you.” Will put steel in his tone. Nico was not going to argue his way out of this one.

“Me too,” Jason said, blue eyes steady.

Will watched Nico’s mouth open and close on arguments, but then a really loud thunderclap sounded practically right above their heads and he just shook his head. “I don’t have time to argue. Fine. Let’s go.”

When they trooped downstairs, there was quite the group gathered in the main room. Hazel and Frank and Reyna—those Will had been expecting. Piper was there too, no surprise. But then he caught sight of Percy and Annabeth and felt Nico stiffen beside him.

“Did you guys take out an ad in the Demigod Daily?” Nico hissed. “What is everyone doing here?”

“Aw man, don’t be mad,” Percy pipes up from his spot on the couch. He rolls his shoulders like he’s warming up for a fight. “Hazel said you were heading to Olympus and might need backup.”

Will gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to glare at Grace. This was the last thing that Nico wanted—all of this attention. But to his surprise, the son of Hades gave a defeated sigh and stepped out onto the porch. Steve and Bucky were in the process of introducing themselves to Mrs. O’Leary when Will cleared the doorway.

Steve and Bucky bounded over to Nico, nearly knocking the son of Hades to the ground. He gave them a genuine, if weak, smile and scratched their ears. Then he fisted his hands in Steve’s fur. “Ready to go for a trip, buddy?”

The dog whined low in his throat and then barked affirmatively. “Grab a dog, I guess,” Nico said. “Anyone who wants to come along.”

Will put his hand close to Nico’s, resting lightly on Steve’s flank. He wanted to hold Nico’s hand, but he can feel the tension in his boyfriend’s body. Maybe it would be better if he didn’t touch. He didn’t want the son of Hades in front of Zeus, but he’s screwed it all up and here they are. Will had no idea how to apologize and sound like he meant it. The apology wouldn’t even mean anything since he doesn’t feel like it was wrong to sic Hades on Zeus and he’s not sure he ever will.

All of the assembled demigods separated, dividing themselves among Bucky, Steve, and Percy’s hound. “Take me to my father, Hades, right now,” Nico ordered.

***

There was blackness and then light. And raised voices.

Will wouldn’t call them shouts, not exactly. But definitely edging up there.

He opened his eyes to the stunned faces of the Olympians, all gazing down at the cluster of demigods and hellhounds standing before their thrones in various expressions of shock and outrage. Except for Hermes, who looked about a second away from cracking up.

“Who dares to enter Olympus uninvited?” Zeus boomed.

Nico stepped forward into the quiet before Will could pull him back. “Stop it, the both of you.” His words were calm, voice steady despite all the godly attention now focused firmly on him. “You keep this up and you’ll do the earth permanent damage.”

Hades stared at his son, eyes burning red deep in his skull. Will swallowed, wanting to throw himself between his boyfriend and all of these beings who could—and probably would—vaporize him without a second thought.

“This does not concern you,” Hades intoned in his sepulcher voice.

“Pretty sure it does,” Nico said pointedly, giving Zeus a quick glance.

Will grit his teeth as he looked at the lord of the gods. Zeus reclined back in his chair, a smug smile playing around his arrogant mouth and boy, Will would have given anything to have the power to knock that smirk right off his face. Instead, he clenched his fists tightly—unless Zeus was unduly affected by taxicab whistles, there wasn’t much the son of Apollo can do.

“Listen to your son, brother,” Zeus said, casually flicking a mote of dust from the arm of his throne. “You wouldn’t want to embarrass yourself further in continuing a fight you can’t win.”

Now Will did move a little closer to Nico, just enough to lightly touch his elbow. The son of Hades didn’t react, his dark gaze locked on his father’s face.

“You forced my son,” Hades growled, his anger shaking the floor of Olympus.

Nico went pale, but said nothing. Will heard gasps behind him—one of them had to be Hazel. The healer wanted to bundle Nico up against his chest, wanted to punch Hades in the face for saying what had happened to Nico so blandly, longed to spit Zeus on a spear like a wild boar.

Zeus shrugged, waving his hand as if at a bothersome insect. “As I said before we were rudely interrupted by your get, it was for…”

“That was FIVE HUNDRED YEARS AGO!” Hades thundered, and all of the demigods cringed at the rockslide in his voice. “And if we’re talking about the recent past hurts done to us, then you should answer for Maria!”

Nico flinched beneath Will’s hand, then drew himself upright again. The son of Apollo risked a glance at Persephone—Nico had mentioned how little she liked being reminded of her husband’s infidelities—but the goddess of the Underworld’s face was impassive. She idly twisted a crown of flowers in her hands, her pitiless gaze focused on Zeus.

Will took a moment in the sudden silence to gauge the reactions of those gods present. Ares seemed the god most enjoying himself, a huge grin wreathing his face. Artemis looked the most displeased, mouth dipped low in a frown. Apollo was still out of favor, so he was not present. Aphrodite looked upset, although she brightened when she looked at Will beside Nico. Hera was impassive, as usual, impossible to read. Poseidon and Athena were following the siblings’ argument like it was a particularly heated tennis match.

Zeus looked like he was enjoying goading Hades. That made Will’s stomach knot and his throat go dry. A war between the gods wasn’t something the mortal plane needed, ever. The property damage and loss of life would be catastrophic. And if the other gods took sides, as they were wont to do…it would set demigods on each other once again.

“I should have made sure I got your brats when I took out their mother,” Zeus drolled, leaning back in his chair.

Now Will noticed the other gods drawing away from their lord. If Zeus so willingly admitted—outright threatened one of the Big Three’s offspring, what did that mean for the rest? And what did that mean for any treaty that might be struck in future if Zeus could just alter it on a whim?

“You’re bored.” Nico’s voice was so quiet, barely noticeable, but it carried to everyone in the chamber. “That’s what this all is.” The son of Hades met Zeus’ eyes. “You’re bored and want distraction.”

The room went still.

Athena’s eyes narrowed. Will guessed the same thought had just occurred to her. “Is this true?” she asked, turning to her father.

Leering, Zeus leaned forward in his throne, looming over Nico. “Don’t flatter yourself, boy. You weren’t that good. I expected more of a fight from you, to be honest. Perhaps because you wanted it?”

Nico paled further, going ashen grey. Will leapt forward, to do what he didn’t know. Rage blinded him and all he could think about was the sudden unquenchable need for blood on his hands and flesh beneath his fists. He didn’t care if Zeus could blast him to component particles in a nanosecond; all that mattered was that he’d hurt Nico. Nico, who’d done nothing to him. Nico, who managed to be instrumental in stopping two wars. Nico, who was here trying to stop a third.

He ran into someone’s shoulder. At first he thought it was Hades, but as he looked up, Will recognized Persephone.

She reached out a hand to her husband, who stopped in his rush to Zeus. Then the goddess turned to Will and held out her hand with the floral crown. “Hold my flower.”

The son of Apollo took it, gaping. He grabbed Nico by the arm and yanked him back to Steve’s side, where the hellhound stood, hackles raised, growling at Zeus. The other demigods gathered around them, all wearing shocked and outraged expressions. The son of Hades leaned his side against Steve, digging his hands into the soft fur. His eyes were huge in his ghost-pale face, and Will cursed Zeus for how much this was costing his boyfriend.

Persephone stalked to the throne. The torches dimmed at her approach, the very air heavy with threat. Will felt a thousand spiders skitter their way down his spine. And then he could see her lips moving, but couldn’t hear what the gods were saying.

“No fair!” Percy hissed, offended and angry. “It’s our lives that are basically gonna be on the line here. We should at least be allowed to listen!”

“Our lives,” Jason said slowly, wonderingly. Will scowled. Had he gotten another head injury? What was the son of Jupiter blathering about now?

Hazel had wrapped Nico in a tight hug, face buried into the join of his shoulder and neck. He had his arms around her, trying to soothe her with hushed words. Everyone else looked like they didn’t know what to do.

“What do we do if they declare war—what happens to the camps?” Piper asked.

“I guess nothing would happen to Camp Jupiter since those children are the Roman aspects of the gods,” Annabeth told her quietly. “But Camp Half-Blood would be a mess. You know we’re going to have to take sides.”

Nico looked up from where he was whispering to Hazel. “This is all my fault.” His voice was miserable. “I’m sorry, guys.”

“It’s like you said,” Annabeth broke in, reassuring him, “Zeus wants a war—for whatever reason drives him. It’s not like he wouldn’t have targeted someone else if it didn’t work out the way he wanted.” She put a hand on his unoccupied shoulder.

“There won’t be a war,” Jason interrupted. He stepped forward, away from his friends.

Will watched him go, wanting to pull Nico close to him and comfort him, but that job was being taken by about three too many people. The son of Apollo knew better than to feel jealous, but he couldn’t help it. Taking care of Nico was his job. Not that he’d been great at it, considering where they stood.

What would he be without it?

“What is Jason doing?” Percy muttered, hand going to Riptide.

“Something damn manly and probably deeply stupid,” Piper said with a grin. “Let’s watch.”

“Listen to me!” the son of Jupiter shouted, facing the gods on the dais arguing silently. Persephone had taken her husband’s hand. “There won’t be a war!”

The sound came back abruptly. Jason flinched, but stood his ground, pushing his glasses further up his nose. He spoke calmly, back straight, unafraid. “We’re done fighting your stupid squabbles for you—for all of you! If you’ve got a problem with each other, get group counseling or anger management, or find some constructive hobby—I hear macramé is pretty relaxing—but for the love of all, LEAVE US OUT OF IT!”

Will could swear he would have been able to hear a pin drop if there’d been one available.

“What did you just say?” Zeus roared. “I could crush you like a bug, you insignifi…”

“You need us,” Nico said, pushing away from his friends’ hands and joining Jason in facing down Zeus. “Demigods do what you gods can’t—that’s why you have us in the first place.”

A jolt of jealousy stiffened Will’s shoulders. He didn’t like Jason and Nico standing side by side in front of the gods. That should be Will up there with Nico. But if he stepped up now, it would look clinging and desperate. And it might distract the two demigods and get them killed. Or killed faster.

Yeah, Will’s brain needed to shut up.

“And we’re not interested in dying for your amusement anymore,” Jason continued. This was a dangerous gambit, reminding the gods of their symbiotic relationship with their offspring; they hated being reminded of their reliance on their children. Jason seemed unconcerned. “We’ll take on prophecies and threats to the world and Olympus, but we’re done fighting to keep you entertained.”

He looked around at the demigods behind them. Will nodded, and saw everyone else do the same. Jason gave them all a small smile before turning back to Zeus. “No more hurting us or messing with us because you’re bored or angry. Not if you want us to keep risking our lives for you and sacrificing to you.”

“I could smite you where you stand,” the king of the gods snarled, raising his hand.

“He’s the Pontifex,” Nico pointed out. “The first one in a long time. If you want to make sure none of us ever acknowledge you again, go right ahead.”

Hera interposed herself smoothly between her husband and her champion, pulling Zeus’ arm down as she went. Will couldn’t hear what she said, but Zeus looked slightly less enraged when she was done.

“You would risk my wrath for this son of Hades?” He looked at each of them in turn, as if unbelieving what his eyes told him.

Now Will did move, coming forward to take Nico’s hand. “Always,” he said firmly, meeting the god’s gaze with a hard one of his own.

“And not just Nico,” Jason told Zeus. “Any demigod. As of now, We’re officially off the menu. Find some other pastime to occupy yourselves.”

Persephone turned toward them and Will struggled to hide his gasp. Her face was no longer flush with springtime life; instead, she was corpse-pale with blood-red lips. Her fingernails had grown into long points, almost claws. She was still beautiful, but now terrifyingly so. This must be her aspect as goddess of the Underworld.

Several other gods had begun arguing with Zeus. Hades and Poseidon were the two loudest, but the floor no longer shook and Will couldn’t hear the boom of thunder that had been a near constant since they’d arrived. It looked more like a heated conversation rather than the onset of the end of the world.

“I think now might be a good time to take your leave,” Persephone told them, a grin on her bloody red mouth. “You’ve made your point.”

“But Zeus hasn’t . . .” Will began, only to hushed by the goddess.

“You’ve been heard,” she told them all. “And more importantly, you’ve been heeded. Now it would be best if you departed.” She gave Will a quelling look when he opened his mouth to protest once again.

“Come on, Will,” Nico whispered, and he sounded so tired the son of Apollo wanted to cry. “Let’s go home.”

He faced his stepmother. “Lady Persephone,” he said with a bow. “Thank you for your consideration.”

“I did not do it for you, son of my husband,” she answered back, face unreadable. Then she gave him the barest of smiles. “Or rather, I did not do it _just_ for you.”

Will had no idea what was going on anymore. All he wanted to do was get back to Camp Half-Blood and sleep for a week. And then wake up long enough to pee before going back in to sleep for another week. He couldn’t even imagine how tired Nico must be.

The healer tried not to look at Zeus, still seated on the dais as he and the others went back to their respective hounds for the journey home. But he couldn’t help it. He looked back, only to find Persephone watching him with eyes that glittered like diamonds. He shuddered and turned away.

“Okay, Steve,” Nico ordered into his hellhound’s neck. “Take us home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not entirely thrilled with the way this chapter turned out so I may tweak it a bit later. Also Persephone is a badass--I drew on other myths for her--as an Underworld deity, she was pretty scary. Hades was chill in comparison. I'd like to think that even though she's not fond of Nico, she would still recognize that Zeus is being an asshat.  
> Also, Zeus is an asshat. I really don't like him in the myths.


	7. Chapter 7

Nico didn’t want to speak to anyone when Steve careened out of shadows near the Big House. He didn’t want to even be at the camp at the moment. He could feel Will staring at him, gaze heavy on his face and just didn’t want to rehash everything that had just happened. If he thought that hiding in the Hades cabin would work, he’d have headed there, but he knew the imposing structure wouldn’t keep out Will or Jason or Reyna or Percy.

He just needed silence. And some peace.

So as soon as Everyone had detached themselves from Steve, he ordered the hellhound to take him to his bedroom. In the Underworld.

He felt bad about doing so, especially when he saw Will’s eyes begin to widen right before everything faded to black, but he couldn’t deal with that right now. He just needed to go someplace where he wouldn’t feel crowded and prodded at and required to make other people feel better when he felt horrible himself.

Steve did as he was bid, leaving Nico standing in the center of his bedroom. “Good boy,” he told the hellhound, giving him an affectionate rub on top of his head. “Go and keep Bucky company now. I’ll whistle if I need you.”

He received a moist lick on one cheek and then his hound was gone.

Nico collapsed on his bed, drawing the covers around him until he was a demigod burrito and fell asleep.

For once, he didn’t dream.

 

***

 

Will glared at empty air. Then he turned that glare on Jason Grace because he just happened to be the closest person to him.

“Nico!” Hazel shouted, then hmphed against Bucky, irritated at her brother’s disappearing act.

“Where’d he go?” Reyna asked, looking around.

“My guess? The Underworld.” Jason sounded calm, unruffled. It made Will want to punch him.

Especially since Will was positive the demigod’s guess was right. He trooped upstairs to the infirmary, just to be sure.

The empty bedroom hit him like a fist, the sight of the turned down bed without Nico in it causing him physical pain. H knew he’d screwed up, gods how he knew. The son of Apollo just hadn’t expected Nico to leave and not even talk to him about what he might be feeling.

_Like Nico was ever one to OD on the sharing of his feelings_. Even if Will understood logically that his boyfriend needed time to process the debacle on Olympus, it still stung that he wouldn’t stick around to talk. Or invite Will to go with him.

He turned to find Jason standing behind him. “Looks like you were right,” the healer told the son of Jupiter grudgingly.

“What are you going to do now?” Grace asked him.

Will crossed his arms, giving the Pontifex another glare. “Not that it’s any business of yours, but I’m going to go get him.”

“That’s not a good idea, Will.”

Will tried to push by him, but Grace didn’t move. The son of Jupiter just stood there, blocking the doorway. “Get out of my way,” Will snarled, hands clenching into fists.

“No.”

He looked up into Grace’s face, surprised at the hardness in his voice. Jason never looked angry, but now he scowled at Will, eyes and mouth drawn down in disapproval.

“Are you going to stop me?” he asked. _Shut up, Will, seriously what the hell was he even talking about anymore?_ There was no way he could go up against Grace and win.

Jason crossed his arms over his chest. “If I have to.” He gave Will an angry look. “He needs time to himself—I shouldn’t have to tell you this since you’re a healer.”

“He needs me,” Will nearly shouted back.

“He needs you to respect his wishes!” Jason shot back, practically growling. “Which you didn’t do when you went to talk to Hades. Am I right, Solace?”

“Fuck you, Grace!” he yelled, swinging at him.

Somehow he found himself flat on his back, contemplating the ceiling. That hooking the leg trick Jason had was mighty convenient. Maybe he should take the time to learn it one day. He pushed himself up only to find Jason in his face.

“Stay down, Solace, or I’ll put you on your ass again.”

Will did, absently rubbing the back of his head in the spot that had struck the floor when he fell. Finally, he sighed and said, “I fucked up.”

Jason dragged the chair in front of the door and plopped down in it. He made a go on gesture with his hand.

Closing his eyes, Will took a deep breath to steady himself. “I don’t know what to do,” he said, voice coming out softer and more broken than he meant it to. “Everything I do just seems to make it worse.”

“How about you try not doing anything?” Grace offered, leaning back so the chair rested on two legs. “Did you ever think this might not be something you can do anything about?”

“I’m a healer,” he retorted. “It’s sort of in the job description that I need to make things better.”

“I think it’s also in the job description that you’re supposed to listen to what your patient wants.” Jason fixed Will with a critical eye. “Am I wrong?”

The son of Apollo shook his head, shame hollowing him out like a canoe. “You’re not,” he told the other demigod reluctantly.

“I heard somewhere that it’s a bad idea for a doctor to treat their loved ones—that they’re too close to them to do a good job.” Jason raised his eyebrows, giving Will what he probably thought was a significant look. Will scowled at him.

Silence settled like dust around them. Will wondered what Nico was doing; he hoped the son of Hades was getting some rest. He glanced up at Jason who sat like a statue in that chair, blocking the door. Finally, he sighed.

“Healing . . .,” he began, and then trailed off. Will cleared his throat and tried again. “It’s the only thing I’m good at,” he said, opening his hands and holding them palm up. “If I can’t help, then what good am I? What good am I to Nico if I can’t heal him?” He risked a glance at Grace.

The son of Jupiter stared down at him, worry and concern etched on his handsome face, and in that moment Will didn’t see a bit of his godly father in him. Zeus or Jupiter could never look at anyone like the way Jason was looking at him. Some of the anger that Will had been holding onto towards Jason evaporated like a puddle in the summer sun. Jason would never hurt Nico, or let him be hurt if he could ever help it.

“I think you’re selling yourself short there, Solace.” He stood up, moving the chair back to its proper place beside the bed and freeing the door. “And maybe I’m not the one you should be telling this stuff to, huh?”

Will shook his head, still sitting on the floor. “I don’t think I can talk to him,” he began, feeling his throat tighten again at the thought of all of those bruises on his boyfriend’s body. “Every time I try, I just get mad and ruin everything.”

Jason opened the door. “Then maybe you don’t talk for once. Maybe you listen.”

Will waited until the son of Jupiter was down the stairs before he muttered, “Oh sure. Leave on the good line. Jerk.”


	8. Chapter 8

Nico woke to dog breath. Steve.

Then he rolled over and got a face full of fur. Bucky.

With a groan, Nico opened his eyes to look around, only to discover he was the meat in a hellhound sandwich. He closed his eyes again. Good thing his bed was bigger than a California King. Bucky and Steve took up all of the bed, cocooning the son of Hades in walls of warm fur. He resisted the urge to nestle back into the blankets and go back to sleep.

But someone was knocking at the door. He should probably check on that. It was probably his father.

“Come in,” he called, voice hoarse and rusty from sleep.

Nico was expecting Hades to sweep into the room. Instead, Persephone opened the door and stepped inside of his room, closing the door behind her.

His bolting upright disturbed the hounds, who snuffled a bit before resettling themselves even closer to Nico. He glared at them helplessly before looking up at his stepmother.

“Don’t get up,” she said, a small smile playing around her generous mouth.

As if he could. Right now he’d need a backhoe to get out from beneath Bucky and Steve.

“Lady Persephone,” he began, scratching at the back of his head. Gods, he wanted a shower. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

She gave him a look that said _obviously_ and came closer to the bed. “I thought you might like to know that war has been averted. For now, at least.”

Nico sagged against Bucky’s back. That was possibly the best news he could have possibly heard—at least it meant that his friends and family wouldn’t be dragged into yet another conflict. He felt grateful beyond all measure.

“Is my fa—I mean, Lord Hades…” Nico trailed off, not quite sure what he wanted to ask. He was also glad he caught himself; Persephone did not appreciate it when he reminded her of his relationship with her husband and the affair that led to his existence. He tried to be conscious of not offending her, especially when in her realm.

“He is as well as can be expected,” his stepmother told him, voice mild. “It will take centuries for he and Zeus to mend this, but they are no longer at the other’s throat.”

Looking down, the son of Hades stared at his hands as if they held the most fascinating story. He felt a rebuke in her words, but he wasn’t sure what he could have done differently. If Will had just listened to him…. He shook his head. But Will hadn’t.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered. “I never meant for him to know.”

He felt the bed dip under Persephone’s weight and looked up, startled. She sat, a strange, almost wondering expression on her face. “You truly did not,” she said, as if she were only now believing it.

He nodded. His stepmother didn’t like him, had probably always thought the worst of him. He wasn’t surprised that it hadn’t occurred to her that he might prefer what happened between him and Zeus be kept from Hades.

“He is your father.” She frowned, like the words left a sour aftertaste on her tongue. “He would want to know.”

Nico let out a bitter laugh. “Know what? I can’t remember exactly what happened. It’s exactly what I told Will—what’s the point in stirring everything up when I know it won’t do any good? Especially when I don’t know what went on after a certain point. And it was Zeus. It’s not like anyone can do anything about him. If Will had just kept his mouth shut….”

Persephone made an inelegant little snort, the sound muffled by a hand in front of her face. He’d made her laugh, something he’d never done before. It was a sound of genuine amusement, a first.

“Yes, well, Zeus is . . .Zeus. And he always will be.” Persephone met his gaze, an approving look in her eyes. “As for Will, he was most adamant that my lord do something on your behalf.” She tilted her head, as if lost in a memory. “Much as my mother demanded Zeus intercede all those millenia ago.”

Nico flushed. His father had carried off Persephone, forcing the goddess to stay in the Underworld with him until Demeter nearly destroyed the human world with want and starvation. “Ah, yes, I guess this must bring up some painful memories.”

Persephone laughed aloud, an actual laugh. Nico felt like his head was going to split open from the weirdness of this entire conversation. “Silly boy, I’m a goddess. I don’t go anywhere I do not wish to,” she said with a smile. “The rumors of my abduction were greatly exaggerated through your myths. I desired to go with Hades. I _asked_ to go with him.” Her smile turned wicked. “If I am bound, it is only because I wish to be so.”

Oh dear gods, too much information. Way too much information. He did not want to examine that sentence in further detail. Ever.

Persephone stood, graceful and tall, robes swirling around her sandaled feet. “I think the thing to bear in mind is that what happened did not just happen to you alone. Not when you have someone who loves you.” She glided to the door, steps silent on the stone. “It might help to remember that, when you can remember so little else.”

Then she was gone.

Nico fell back on top of Bucky with a sigh, arm pressed over his eyes. As much as he hated to admit it, Persephone had actually been helpful. Surprisingly so. It wasn’t fair of him to shut Will out, not when the healer was probably hurting just as much as Nico was.

Steve nudged his hand, moving it until Nico’s palm rested atop his head. Looking down at his hound’s pleading eyes, the son of Hades gave in and scratched at his ears. “Okay, boys. Let me just shower and then we’ll head back to Will.”

Bucky gave him an affectionate lick on the cheek and then went back to his nap.


	9. Chapter 9

Nico sent Steve to find Will with a message while he took Bucky on ahead to Zeus’ Fist. It was private and out of the way of most other campers and there wouldn’t be any games or training exercises scheduled that far out. He and Will would be able to talk without interruption from campers or friends or emergencies. And he could use his hounds to deter anyone out for a hike from coming too close.

He needed to hash things out with Will. His boyfriend couldn’t hold on to this kind of anger indefinitely—Nico knew that better than most.

The son of Apollo was a healer; it was in his blood, his bones. It was who and what he was, and was one of the many reasons Nico loved him. The son of Hades would be damned if he let Will throw it all away over something that happened to _him_.

Nico sat with his back against the rock, head tipped up so he could look at the sky, even though his eyes were closed. He felt it when Steve shadow traveled in with Will, but didn’t get up. He waited until he felt a presence standing in front of him, staring at him, before he opened his eyes.

Will’s hair was a mess of tangled curls, the fading sun turning it from richest gold to burnished copper. Nico smiled up at him. “Hey.”

The healer’s lips twitched, but he held back a smile. With his arms crossed over his chest, Will said, “I got your message.” He glanced at Steve. “Obviously.”

Nico patted the ground beside him, hoping that Will would sit down. He didn’t relish the idea of getting a crick in his neck from looking up at his boyfriend. “Steve, Bucky, guard.”

The two hellhounds took off, doing a perimeter sweep in opposite directions. Nico was sure he and Will wouldn’t be disturbed, so he reached up and took Will’s hand, dragging the healer down to the ground beside him.

“How are you doing?” Nico asked him, threading his fingers through Will’s.

The son of Apollo refused to look at him, instead keeping his gaze firmly fixed on the horizon. “I should be the one asking you that,” he said in a strained voice.

Nico lightly slapped his boyfriend upside the back of his head. “Stop that.”

Scowling, Will inched away from the son of Hades. “Stop what?”

With a sigh, Nico scooted closer, negating the space between them. “I’m allowed to check up on you. It’s kind of what we boyfriends do.”

Will sniffed, dismissive. “I’m fine.”

Nico believed that about as much as he believed his father could be convinced to ride a unicorn after dancing an Irish jig in a field wearing nothing but purple body paint. “Not buying it,” he told the healer, brushing Will with his shoulder.

“You’re the one it happened to,” the son of Apollo managed to get out, voice almost sounding normal. He shrugged. “If you’re fine, then I’m fine.”

Nico frowned. Okay, this was not good. And Will still wasn’t looking at him. He sighed. Persephone’s words came back to him, and he knew he couldn’t just leave things the way they were. He loved Will. It hurt all the way down to the core of him to feel this numb distance between them.

He threw his leg over Will, climbing into his lap so that they faced each other. Nico felt his boyfriend startle—he knew he was never this outwardly demonstrative in public, so it must have been a shock—and then tense in discomfort as Nico settled himself. Using the tips of his fingers, the son of Hades lifted Will’s chin so their gazes met.

“How about we agree that we’re both _not_ fine,” Nico told him in hushed tones. “I think it’s pretty safe to say that what happened, well, it happened to _both_ of us.”

Will stared at him, startled, blue eyes impossibly wide. Nico smiled at him, a tentative gesture. “So I figure,” he continued, “that we’re both going to have to deal with this. Together.”

The son of Apollo leaned forward suddenly, wrapping his strong arms around Nico and burying his head into the crook of his neck. Nico held Will close, pressing his cheek into his boyfriend’s hair. He rested his forearms against Will’s broad shoulders, fingers massaging the nape of his neck.

“Hey, hey, what’s all this about?” the son of Hades asked gently after a few minutes of silence.

Will sat up but didn’t move out of Nico’s embrace. The healer’s face was flushed, eyes suspiciously bright. “Thank you for saying that. I hate feeling like you’re shutting me out.”

Now Nico felt terrible. He hadn’t meant to do that—he’d just needed his space to figure things out in his own head first before being able to confide in Will. It was an old habit of his; Nico still wasn’t used to depending on anyone and so he defaulted to dealing with things on his own.

“I’m sorry,” he told Will, looking up at him through an overhand of black bangs. “I didn’t mean to do that.”

“I know.” The healer rubbed at one eye with the back of his hand. “And I know why you needed to do that. I wasn’t exactly doing a bang up job of listening to you.” He placed a gentle hand on Nico’s cheek. Nico leaned into the touch, reveling in Will’s warmth. “I’m sorry for that. It’s just that . . . you were mine.”

Nico blinked, pulling away. Will’s voice sounded choked, clogged with tears. “I still am,” Nico told him, reeling the healer back into his body. “I always will be.”

Will shook his head, like he was unwilling to believe what Nico told him. “I’m supposed to take care of you,” he said, in voice that was like a sword in Nico’s guts. “I’m supposed to protect you!”

The son of Apollo tried to scramble away from Nico, but the son of Hades refused to be moved. Will began to struggle in earnest, tears flowing down his face. Nico tried to hold onto his boyfriend, but Will kept trying to shake him off. Nico threw himself on top of the healer, bearing them both to the ground in an effort to keep Will from running away.

In frustration, Nico yelled, “I don’t need you to protect me!” Will went still beneath him, hiccupping back tears. Then, much quieter, the son of Hades continued. “I need you to love me.” He looked at Will, hurt and pain shining in his dark eyes. “Can you do that? Still?”

Nico found himself dragged down, Will wrapping around his body, caging him in his arms. Pressing his forehead against Nico’s, Will murmured in a voice gone hoarse, “How can you even ask me that?”

Nico let out a breath he hadn’t been aware he’d been holding. It felt like coming up for air after being underwater for too long, like being saved from drowning. “It wasn’t your fault, Will,” he told the healer. “It wasn’t anyone’s but Zeus.” He stared into cloudy blue eyes. “You need to let it go.”

The healer snorted. Nico felt Will’s hold tighten on him, and he felt safer than he had in days. “Will, you’re a healer. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s one of the things I love about you. But now you need to figure out a way to heal yourself.

“We both do.”

Will’s chuckle ruffled the top of Nico’s hair. “When did you get so smart, Spooky?”

At the sound of Will’s nickname for him, Nico felt the last of the tension drain from his shoulders. “Always have been, Sunspot. Not my fault you never noticed.”

Nico felt Will’s fingers under his chin, forcing his face up. “What did you just call me?”

The son of Hades felt himself flush, positive his face was glowing in embarrassment. Nicknames were Will’s thing, not his. But for the past couple of months, Nico had taken to calling Will Sunspot in his head. It just seemed to suit the son of Apollo.

“Nothing,” he mumbled.

“Nico.”

With an eyeroll, Nico admitted, “It’s just something I’ve been calling you. You know, in my head.” He looked up at his boyfriend shyly. “Do you like it?”

The son of Hades took Will’s enthusiastic kiss as a definitive yes.


	10. Chapter 10

Will stared at Nico as he slept in the circle of his arms. They’d talked for most of the afternoon, with Nico’s eyelids drooping lower and lower, until Will began to hum an old lullaby his mom used to sing to him. The son of Hades’ eyes closed completely, his breathing evening out into sleep.

Nico looked younger in sleep, the timeworn marks of care slipping from his features. Will brushed away a stray black strand of hair from his face, the lock marring the quiet perfection of his boyfriend’s features. Nico was not what most would call handsome in this day and age, but he was attractive in a classic, timeless way. His features were sharper, more angular and refined—a man out of time. Will loved just looking at him.

As Nico slept, Will thought about everything they’d said to each other, most especially what his boyfriend had told him. The healer was glad for the chance to listen to Nico and tell him what he was feeling versus just lashing out in misguided ways. Will still couldn’t say he wasn’t angry, but at least now he felt better grounded about what had happened to Nico. He felt less like going out and destroying something and more like making sure his boyfriend had what he needed.

Nico was far more important to Will than what had happened to him. Will had just needed to be reminded of that.

The sun had nearly disappeared behind the hills. Will pressed a kiss to Nico’s temple, causing the young man to stir sleepily. “We should get back,” the son of Apollo whispered into his ear, giving the lobe a light nip. “Before they send out a search party for us.

Nico groaned and rolled over on his back, nearly braining Will with his cast by accident. Brown eyes cracked open as Will dodged out of the way. “Don’t wanna,” Nico mumbled, scooting closer so that his face was buried in Will’s chest.

Will grinned, wrapping his arms tight around his boyfriend’s lanky frame. Their legs tangled together, Nico’s calf resting atop the back of Will’s He wanted to stay like this all night.

But he knew they’d get in trouble. They had to set a good example for the younger campers.

Though that didn’t mean he couldn’t sneak into the Hades cabin when everyone else was asleep…

Squeezing Nico in a fond hug, he chuckled. Once the son of Hades finally relented to sleep, it was very difficult to wake him up. He loved that about him. “Come on, Spooky,” Will said, fingers tickling down Nico’s sides, “I want to check on your arm. We may be able to downgrade you to a sling if you promise to take it easy.”

Nico eeled away from him when Will found a particularly ticklish spot right beneath his ribs. Brown eyes narrow and a thunderous scowl on his face, Nico came fully awake. “I was trying to sleep,” he muttered, rubbing at his eyes with the back of his good hand.

Climbing to his feet, the son of Hades said, “I should make you walk to the Big House alone for that.”

Will caught his arm before his boyfriend could shadow-travel away. Yanking Nico tight to him, Will kissed him deeply, hands cradling Nico’s face in a gentle grip. He felt the son of Hades gasp in surprise, and Will took advantage, sliding his tongue into Nico’s furnace of a mouth.

He felt Nico’s palms skim up his back, fingers digging into his shoulders as Will deepened the kiss. The son of Apollo tilted the shorter demigod’s face up to get a better angle, hands light on Nico’s face so that he could easily pull away.

Nico didn’t.

It was Will who broke the kiss, pulling back a fraction so he could get control over himself again. His jeans were almost painfully tight now and if they didn’t start walking back, odds were good that they wouldn’t make it back in time for dinner. Or curfew.

Didn’t mean Will didn’t want to risk it though.

Nico stared at him with a dazed smirk. He pushed hair out of Will’s eyes and said, “You haven’t done that since I came back from the mission. I missed it.”

Will took his boyfriend’s hand and began to lead them back to camp. Nico whistled for Steve and Bucky. After a few moments, Will answered, “I didn’t know if you’d want me to. After,” he shrugged, “you know.”

Nico snapped his leg back to kick Will in the ass while they walked. “You could have just asked.”

“If you hadn’t noticed, I wasn’t dealing with things very well.” When Nico chortled, Will snapped, “And you were injured!”

“I’m not made of glass, Sunspot.” He grinned up at his boyfriend. “I’m not going to break if you kiss me. And I know you’d never do anything to hurt me.”

Will slung his arm over Nico’s shoulder pulling him close to his side. They matched pace easily, fitting together like puzzle pieces.

“So are you over this overprotective nonsense? Because I’ve really been missing you in my bed.” There was still enough light that Will could see the flush that colored Nico’s pale cheeks. Will wanted to kiss him right there. He knew how awkward saying things like that made Nico feel.

Smirking, Will put on his best clinical voice. “We’ll have to see. You do still need your rest, after all. Doctor’s orders.”

Nico spun, grabbing Will by the shirt collar and dragging him down so they were face to face. “Over fucking _ruled_ ,” he snarled before claiming Will’s mouth in a bruising kiss.

Will felt a thrill spear him. He loved it when Nico took charge, and found him cursing especially hot since the son of Hades did it so rarely. Before he could do more than raise his arms to pull his boyfriend closer, Nico had already stepped away, staring at him with a challenge in his dark eyes.

Gulping, Will nodded, blond hair flopping into his eyes. “Right,” he managed to squeak out, cursing his jeans and how tight they’d become. “Overruled.”

“Damn right,” Nico growled, taking Will’s hand again and leading him back down to camp and to the Hades cabin.

Will gladly followed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and for all of the kudos and notes! Hope you enjoyed. Not sure if I'll write anything else in this 'verse for right now, but who knows. I might get a plotbunny and be back with more Solangelo. Or Jason and Nico bromance.


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